


Fighting Off the Dark

by LeraOmo (Lera_Myers)



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Bed-Wetting, F/M, Fluff, Humiliation, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Omorashi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-06 00:26:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13399509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lera_Myers/pseuds/LeraOmo
Summary: Cora has an embarrassing secret she'd rather Scott hadn't discovered. As it turns out, he's remarkably understanding.





	Fighting Off the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the tags! This is more hurt/comfort than true kink, but I'd rather not give anyone an unwanted surprise.
> 
> No prompt this time, just an idea I couldn't get out of my head. XD Hope you enjoy.

He was somewhere in the middle of a dream when the sound of Cora whimpering pulled him awake. Even in the dim lighting, Scott could see her twitching where she lay next to him, her face scrunched up as if in pain. A stab of sympathy went through him as he watched.

Nightmares again… He was no stranger to them himself, but seeing it happen to someone else was different. Would it be better to nudge her a little, or just hold her and hope she came out of it on her own?

He didn’t get a chance to decide. When he rolled closer, reaching out, the sheets squishing beneath him promptly cut off that train of thought. Scott’s brow furrowed. _What was - ?_

Just as he threw the blankets off himself to check (which didn’t help too much in the dark), SAM chimed in over their private connection. _“Lieutenant Harper is experiencing nocturnal enuresis, more commonly known as bedwetting.”_

Scott winced, rubbing a hand down his face. Was it that bad of a nightmare, or could she be getting sick and not know it? _Either way, no chance of handling this with dignity. Damn it._ He sat up on a dry part of the mattress, and she made a choked noise as the bed shifted, her expression contorting even further.

Better to wake her now, right? Give them a chance to handle the…situation…before anyone else got up, and maybe catch another hour or two of sleep. He gripped her shoulder, shaking gently.

“Hey. Hey, wake up.”

Cora moaned in response. As she struggled back to consciousness, her gaze flickered around the room unsteadily, almost desperately. One clammy hand groped around until he reached out to link their fingers.

“I’ve got you.” He could tell her thoughts were still settling back into her brain - a small mercy. It bought him a few extra seconds to figure out how to tactfully bring up their problem. “Uh…bad dream?”

Her reply was a groggy sound. “No,” she mumbled, her breathing slowly starting to return to normal. “’S only…”

He saw the moment it clicked for her. She’d shifted a little, probably trying to get comfortable, when panic eclipsed her expression. “Shit!” she hissed, jerking away and sitting bolt upright. “I - ”

“Wait.” He slid off the mattress as she scrambled backwards and stood up. “You can catch your breath. That looked…rough.” Even to his own ears, it sounded like an understatement.

Her whole body still trembled violently - whether from the dream or humiliation, it was hard to tell. “Oh, my god,” she breathed, a hand coming up to cover her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe - ”

“It’s okay.” He caught her shoulder again as she bent to strip the sheets off the bed. “Hey, I’ve got it.”

For a moment she looked about to protest, but only nodded, gaze glued to the floor. “I’m gonna go shower,” she said finally, a note of pleading in her voice.

“Hold up a sec.” If nothing else, he could at least minimize the risk of an awkward encounter. Tipping his head towards the desk, he said, “SAM? Would you lock the crew-side bathroom door?”

“ _Yes, Pathfinder._ ”

“Thanks.” He looked back at Cora, who exhaled heavily, emotion warring on her face. “Go clean up, okay? I’ll grab you some new clothes.”

Murmuring something that might have been gratitude, she darted from the room. Scott let the door close behind her before he took the sheets off the bed, then dug through the closet for another pair of her pajamas. His own were barely damp; he could make do with a fresh set and some baby wipes for now.

Much as he would have liked to leave her to her privacy, there were only about five minutes before the shower froze her out. No choice but to do laundry _now_. Cora had left her clothes in one of the machines in the bathroom already, and he took the liberty of shunting their load forward in the wash cycle - _thank you Kallo for that queue-jumping hack. Where do we keep the clean sheets again…?_

By the time she reentered the room, he’d just located them and remade the bed. Her eyes were somewhat red-rimmed with what he hoped was only exhaustion. Even the steam of the shower might have done it.

“Hey…” When he drew her in for a hug, she fisted her hands in the material on the back of his shirt.

Drawing in a gulp of air, she managed, “Hey.”

Scott nudged her to sit down on the mattress, where she nestled into his side quietly. “You wanna talk?”

She ran her fingers through her hair, not looking at him. “You mad at me?”

“Not like you did it on purpose. It was a one-time thing.”

He’d expected her to relax, but instead she went rigid, looking at him with that expression that meant she was afraid to speak up but terrified of staying silent, and - Oh. _Oh_.

“I mean.” He wrapped an arm around her waist. “I’m not mad, sweetheart. I promise I’m not.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “It’s not a _frequent_ thing,” she insisted, her voice barely there. “Sneaks up on me here and there when I’m stressed.”

He nodded. “No shortage of stress here. Everyone’s on edge in their own way.”

“I’d been hiding it pretty well. Even when I…slept in the crew quarters.” She’d gone red to the tips of her ears. “Never meant for you to find out.”

He only let himself pause for a second before he made an executive decision. “Look, uh. Don’t tell her I told you this, but Sara wet the bed ‘till she was twelve. It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Oh.” Her expression cleared a little, and she relaxed back against him. “Changes your perception.”

Nuzzling a kiss against her hair, he smiled. “I love you, Cora. Extra laundry doesn’t change that.” _I’m sorry you thought it might._ “So we can, like…pretend this didn’t happen. Or we can try and find a way to help going forward. Whichever you want.”

“So damn sweet,” she murmured, interlacing their fingers. He gave her hand a squeeze. “Can we figure it out in the morning? I want to…try and get some more sleep.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” He pulled her closer.

“Scott?” she said into his shirt.

“Shh. I’m here.”

Neither of them fully parted from the hug as they curled up under the blankets. She still held his hand, until they’d both fallen back to sleep.


End file.
